Western Union is exploring the use of blockchain and cryptocurrency to help connect the cash and digital worlds.
They have access to over half a million retail locations as well over a billion bank accounts through the banks themselves. In that regard, they consider themselves as an on- and off-ramp for global money movement.
Western Union President, Odilon Almeida, discusses three things that need to be solved to establish a broadly accepted digital currency:
1) volatility
2) governance
3) compliance
They are running a pilot program with Ripple.
Almeida says they consider it would be just an additional currency. They already operate with 130 currencies. He says it may simply represent one more option they offer customers.